Holland's Theory of Career Choice
At its simplest, this theory proposes that "Birds of the same feather flock together." In other words, people like to be around others who have similar personalities. In choosing a career, it means that people choose jobs where they can be around other people who are like them.

It is the best known and most widely researched theory on this topic. It is used by many career counselors. Understanding it will help you make sense of your Career Key scores and how they are related to career choice.

Holland's theory can be summarized in six statements:
1. In our culture, most person are one of six personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
2. People of the same personality tend to "flock together." For example, Artistic people are attracted to making friends and working with Artistic people.
3. People of the same personality type working together in a job create a work environment that fits their type. For example, when Artistic persons are together on a job, they create a work environment that rewards creative thinking and behavior -- an Artistic environment.
4. There are six basic types of work environments: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
5. People who choose to work in an environment similar to their personality type are more likely to be successful and satisfied:
For example, Artistic persons are more likely to be successful and satisfied if they choose a job that has an Artistic environment, like choosing to be a dance teacher in a dancing school -- an environment "dominated" by Artistic type people where creative abilities and expression are highly valued.
6. How you act and feel at work depends to a large extent on your workplace environment. If you are working with people who have a personality type like yours, you will be able to do many of the things they can do, and you will feel most comfortable with them. How is this related to the scores you receive on the Career Key?
7. It means that you probably should choose an occupation whose type is the same as, or similar to, your personality type. For example, imagine that your highest score on the Career Key is for the Realistic type. Looking at the table below, you can see that the most compatible job environment is Realistic. This would suggest that you choose from the jobs that are in the Realistic group. Or, you might choose from the jobs that fall in the Investigative or Conventional category.
Compatible Work Environments
Your Personality Type Most Compatible Compatible
Realistic Realistic Investigative & Conventional
Investigative Investigative Realistic & Artistic
Artistic Artistic Investigative & Social
Social Social Artistic & Enterprising
Enterprising Enterprising Social & Conventional
Conventional Conventional Enterprising & Realistic
Most people, in reality, are a combination of types -- like Realistic-Investigative, or Artistic-Social. Therefore, you will probably want to consider occupations in more than one category.
If your two strongest personality types are Realistic and Social, Investigative and Enterprising, or Artistic and Conventional -- read the following.
In summary, you are most likely to choose a satisfying job if you choose one that fits your personality type.